Why the first instalment is worth far more than the last
In a five-year RD, the first deposit compounds for sixty months and the last for one. They are the same rupee amount and they do very different work, which is why an RD returns considerably less than an FD of the same total value.
Putting ₹5,000 a month away for five years deposits ₹3 lakh. A ₹3 lakh FD held for the full five years earns substantially more, because all of it was invested from day one. The RD is not worse — it matches how people actually save — but the comparison is worth understanding before treating the two as equivalent.
This calculator sums each instalment's own growth rather than applying an annuity formula to a quarterly rate, which is the more accurate approach and matches bank statements more closely.